Smith lands first win

Chris Smith ended his PGA Tour drought at the Westchester Country Club, winning his first career title at the Buick Classic.

In his 148th PGA start, Smith shot a one-under-par 70 in the final round to finish at 12-under 272, two shots ahead of David Gossett, Pat Perez and Loren Roberts.

Smith, who joined the tour in 1997, captured the first prize of £431,000.

His previous best finish was a tie for third at the 2001 BellSouth Classic but he moved in front here with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 15th. He put himself in position by hitting a long drive on the 462-yard hole.

‘‘The last two or three years, I haven’t felt like I chipped the ball as well as I should,’’ Smith said. ‘‘To hit shots when I needed them and to make putts when I needed them is the missing piece to the puzzle that I’ve been looking for for a long time.’’

Perez joined Smith at 11 under with a birdie at the 16th. But he immediately fell back, three-putting for bogey on the 17th.

‘‘I’m not really happy right now,’’ Perez said. ‘‘I had horrible breaks all day. There’s no way I should have lost that tournament today.’’

Gossett, using his sister Joni as his caddie, was also in contention.

He reached 11 under with a birdie on the 14th, but the 23-year-old fell back with bogeys on the next two holes. ‘‘I was a little disappointed with how many bogeys I made,’’ said Gossett, who shot even par.

Roberts, who has not won since the 2000 Greater Milwaukee Open, also shot even after a round that included four birdies and four bogeys.

Afterwards, he felt like he let an opportunity slip away. ‘‘I don’t want to take anything away from Chris. He played great,’’ Roberts said.

‘‘He went out and won the golf tournament, but I really felt I let this one get away from me, I really did.’’

Defending champion Sergio Garcia, who is expected to challenge at next week’s US Open, shot a 71 and finished at five-under.